The present invention relates, in general, to vehicle door constructions and more particularly to a vehicle door and a door inner trim panel attachment.
In current vehicle door construction, a steel door inner panel is welded to a steel outer door panel. An inner door trim panel is attached to the inner door panel by screws and/or clips.
A door release lever is mounted in a bezel which is attached to the door inner trim panel by a plurality of screws as well as another screw extending through the bezel into a clip mounted in the door inner panel. The door release lever is coupled to a linkage which is fixed to the door inner panel by the screw extending through the bezel into the clip in the door inner panel. The linkage moves a door release cable attached to the door latch at the rear edge of the door to control opening of the door.
The rear occupant door structure may be within the crush zone during some rear vehicle impact. As the rear door deforms, the inner door trim panel can separate from the rear door and pull the bezel and the attached door release lever from the door inner panel. This separation movement can exert a force on the door release cable causing the cable to trigger the rear door latch to move to an opened position.
It would be desirable to provide a vehicle door construction which maintains the door release lever in fixed engagement with the door inner panel despite any disengagement of the inner door trim panel from the door inner panel during a rear vehicle impact.